The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Llama Vessel
c. 200–550 CE
Overall: 17.8 x 13.2 x 23.1 cm (7 x 5 3/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1990.128
Location: 232 Andean
Description
It is not clear whether the llama's appearance in Moche art is explained by its importance as a sacrificial animal; as a source of meat, fertilizer, and wool; or as the Andes's only burden-bearing beast, as this vessel shows. It also may be important that llamas are natives of the mountains, where seasonal rains charge the rivers that flow down to the desert coast and make life possible.- Turner, Evan H. “Acquisitions: 1990.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 2 (February 1991): 30–45. Reproduced: p. 34, no. 66 www.jstor.org
- {{cite web|title=Llama Vessel|url=false|author=|year=c. 200–550 CE|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.128